Facebook post from a 27-year-old woman dying of cancer is full of valuable advice

At just 27 years old, Holly Butcher died on Jan. 4 after a battle with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. A day before her untimely death, Butcher, an Australian, posted a letter to Facebook that outlined the change in her perspective since she’d realized she would likely succumb to her illness.

In her poignant post, Butcher advises people to not let minor inconveniences dictate their mood and to strive to appreciate the short time we all have on Earth. You can read her full post below on Facebook (or reprinted with Holly’s family’s permission on this blog):

In her letter, Butcher starts off by acknowledging that she does not feel she is ready to die and that having to face her own mortality at such a young age has been a struggle. She then stresses the importance of letting go of trivial problems and focusing more on the positive things in your life.

“Those times you are whinging about ridiculous things (something I have noticed so much these past few months), just think about someone who is really facing a problem. Be grateful for your minor issue and get over it. It’s okay to acknowledge that something is annoying but try not to carry on about it and negatively effect other people’s days,” she wrote.

Butcher wrote that when she realized her life would be cut short, she came to wish she would be able to hang onto the things many of us take for granted. “I’m watching my body waste away right before my eyes with nothing I can do about it and all I wish for now is that I could have just one more birthday or Christmas with my family, or just one more day with my partner and dog. Just one more,” she wrote.

In addition to not sweating the small stuff and appreciating what you have, Butcher shared some other sobering pieces of life advice. For example, she wrote that it is better to give than to receive.

“Buy your friend something kind instead of another dress, beauty product or jewellery for that next wedding. 1. No-one cares if you wear the same thing twice 2. It feels good. Take them out for a meal, or better yet, cook them a meal. Shout their coffee. Give/ buy them a plant, a massage or a candle and tell them you love them when you give it to them,” she wrote.

Butcher also wrote that it’s important to value other people’s time, and that means not being tardy when meeting a friend. She recommended spending your money on experiences, not things, and to get out in nature as much as possible. Butcher pleaded with people to donate blood, writing that because of blood donors, she was able to live for another year. In that year, she said she had “some of the greatest times” of her life.

Butcher’s moving post has gone viral, having now been shared more than 82,000 times and liked by more than 114,000 people. My deepest sympathies go out to this insightful young woman’s loved ones, and we hope that her message will inspire others to live their lives to the fullest.